CV Advice for Legal Support Staff
In this article discover the advice we give legal support candidates in relation to crafting their CV. Discover whether you should include reasons for leaving a role and how to deal with gaps in your work history.
Our experienced recruitment consultants are specialists in the legal support sector. They spend most of their week meeting with potential candidates and talking through resumes and career goals. They have seen some of the best (and the worst!) legal support CVs going around.
This is their advice in relation to crafting a legal support CV that will increase your success in getting an employer’s undivided attention.
A well-crafted CV will make a great first impression on an employer. It should be succinct, well presented and professional. Using a business-like font, sub-headings and dot points will improve scanability and readability.
There are a few important things to remember when building your CV. Potential employers will most likely scan your CV looking for key words from the position description that they are filling.
We recommend tailoring your CV so that you are using industry wording for legal support responsibilities and achievements.
We recommend maintaining a “master resume” which includes a full list of your work history, roles, experience and achievements. This can then be cut down and tailored to target a specific role and its required skills and experience.
A CV should cover the last 10 years of your work history.
How do I Explain Short Term Roles?
Over the course of your legal support career, there may have been roles that have not lasted very long. This might be because the job was a temporary or contract engagement or was due to circumstances beyond your control or perhaps it didn’t meet your expectations.
We are often asked by candidates whether they include short periods at a firm on their CV. We recommend that if a role was held in the last 10 years, then you should include it, but include specific details on your reasons for leaving. This is so that hiring managers don’t make their own assumptions eg. that you are a habitual job hopper, didn’t pass a probationary period or might be difficult to work with!
If the role was a temporary position for 3 months, then make this clear. If a short term role was fulfilling a contract or delivering on a project make this clear as well.
If your role didn’t work out for some reason, be transparent (and professional) about why you left. It is worth remembering that firms make a big investment in time and money in recruiting and on-boarding. The last thing they want is to get 6 months in and to have to go through it all again.
What Should I Say was my Reason for Leaving?
Be as honest as you can whilst still presenting the previous employer in a positive light. Some examples might be:
- Left to pursue career development goals
- Pursuing greater career challenges
- Left to work closer to home
- Restructure/merger or acquisition impacted your role
- Company culture wasn’t a good fit
- Project completed
A general rule of thumb is to include a reason for leaving whenever a role has lasted less than 2 years. We would expect a legal support candidate to have possibly one or two instances of short tenure in a role over the course of their career. We are also more likely to see this earlier in their career whilst they are finding their feet in their working life.
If we see a CV that has more than 3-5 well explained short term role timeframes it may raise flags for us.
What about Gaps in My Work History?
Some candidates have gaps in their work history. These should also be explained in a short paragraph. Some examples might be:
- During this time, I took time out to raise my young family
- During this time, I travelled extensively
- During this time, I volunteered in an area I am passionate about
- During this time, I pursued further study
It is also worth considering how you kept your skills up to date and relevant during a gap in your work history. Did you attend any seminars or conferences or take part in any courses?
How long should my legal support CV be?
We recommend that you stick to a CV length of between 3-5 pages. Try to phrase things succinctly. If you are struggling with the length, consider whether there are any roles at the same organisation that can be combined. Consider eliminating any details that are unrelated to the position you’re applying for.
If you wouldd like some guidance from an experienced specialist recruiter to help you towards the next step on the career ladder, then reach out to us, we can help with your legal support CV and coach you towards securing your next career move!
Legal People is your gateway to the best legal career opportunities. We are specialists in the Legal Industry and recruit Lawyers, Support staff and HR professionals in Melbourne, Australia. If you enjoyed reading this article, you can follow our Company Page on LinkedIn
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